The current network has evolved from two closely connected structures: the German Biobank Node (GBN), serving as the coordinating umbrella organisation and 'National Node' of BBMRI-ERIC, and the German Biobank Alliance (GBA), which comprised the collaborating biobanks. In 2017, under the leadership of the then GBN, biobanks from eleven German university hospitals and two IT development centres joined forces within the GBA. Since 2025, biobanks at 37 sites, along with one IT development centre, have been actively involved in the network. The biobank partners work according to uniform quality standards and make biosamples and associated data available across Europe for biomedical research via a connected IT infrastructure.
On 1 July 2025, both structures – GBN and GBA – were merged under the new name German Biobank Network (GBN). At the same time, the GBN was integrated into the Network University Medicine (NUM). The new name reflects the network’s development and its role as a central infrastructure for biobanking within university medicine.
As of 1 July 2025, NUM has entered its third funding phase, which will run for five years and is supported by the Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR). In order to ensure the long-term sustainability of the structures established within NUM, the BMFTR has announced its intention to continue supporting the network beyond the current funding period.
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